Building Safety

In accordance with DOE guidance, PS 200 has implemented a number of changes to ensure everyone's safety.

Building Safety Measures

Building Safety Measures

In addition to asking everyone to wear masks, wash hands, and maintain social distancing, PS 200 has taken several steps to improve the safety of our staff and students. These steps are in accordance with CDC and DOE guidelines to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and other illnesses.

  • Masks: At all times, students and staff must wear face coverings protecting their nose and mouth while on school property or on DOE-provided transportation, unless students cannot medically tolerate a face covering or wearing the face covering is developmentally inappropriate. Central will provide these, along with disinfectant; hand sanitizer; and electrostatic sprayers. 

  • Building Ventilation: School leadership and facilities staff in every school are reviewing school space and making necessary repairs and adjustments to ensure safe conditions for in-person student learning, including repairs to HVAC systems, maximizing ventilation, and replacing regular air filters with higher efficiency types.  PS 200 plans to keep all windows open for air circulation.

  • Deep Cleaning: PS 200 will be cleaned throughout the day and disinfected each night, with special attention to high-touch areas. 

  • Signage: PS 200 will display signage on face coverings, hand washing and physical distancing as well as floor directives to assist students in understanding the safe flow of traffic in the hallways.

  • Classrooms: PS 200 will reduce class size to 9-12 students to ensure safe social distancing and may utilize non-traditional spaces such as the gym, auditorium, and playroom for instruction.

  • Nurse Visits: Non-Covid-19 medical assistance will be given in the Nurse's Office which is not the isolation room where students with Covid-19 symptoms will be sent.

More information and guidance on non-school workplaces will be forthcoming as well.

Your Responsibilities While in the Building

We have put safety procedures in place to keep our students and staff healthy.

  • Masks: Masks must be worn at all times by all adults (teachers, staff, and visitors) and by students.

  • Handwashing: Students and staff are expected to wash hands thoroughly before and after eating, after using the bathroom, if exposed to body fluids (like saliva or a sneeze), and at other times necessary throughout the day.

For information on how to properly wash hands visit the CDC information page on handwashing.

  • Drop-off and pickup procedures: Please maintain social distancing between families during drop-off and pickup. Parents, with the exception of parents of Pre-K students, are not allowed to enter the building with their child unless arrangements have been made in advance with the office. Please see the Arrivals and Dismissal page for additional instructions on arrival and dismissal procedures.

  • Temperature Checks: Families are expected to check the temperatures of their students at home before sending them school. If students have a temperature of 100℉ or higher, students must remain at home. As per the DOE, every morning, prior to entering the school, specific staff will perform random samplings of temperatures for both students and school-based staff using non-touch thermometers, in addition to the required at-home temperature checks. Additional guidance on random temperature screenings is forthcoming.

Face Masks and Protective Gear

  • As per the DOE, at the start of the school year, the DOE will provide all schools with necessary supplies to help protect students and staff from COVID-19, including hand sanitizer, soap, disinfectants, and thermometers.

  • Masks may be removed during breakfast and lunch. Breakfast and lunch will take place in your child’s classroom and they will be adhering to social distancing guidelines.

For more about meals, visit the Nutrition page of the DOE's Reopening Plan.

  • The mandatory use of face coverings while on NYCDOE property must be enforced for all individuals, including staff, students, and essential visitors, with the exceptions below.

    • Medically verified students who cannot tolerate a face covering, including where students for whom the use of such coverings would impair their physical or mental health;

    • Where the use of face covering is inappropriate considering the development level or age of the student (e.g. under two years old);

    • Guidance and policies will account for any modifications to social distancing or PPE that may be necessary for certain student or staff populations, including individuals who have hearing impairment or loss, students receiving language services, and young students in early education programs, ensuring that any modifications minimize COVID-19 exposure risk for students, faculty, and staff, to the greatest extent possible.

  • If a student is unable to wear a mask in the building, that student will be switched to full remote learning at home out of safety for fellow students, staff, and teachers.

Learn more on the DOE's Health and Safety website.

Bathroom Procedures

Bathroom use must not exceed established cap (based on physical distancing guidelines) at any given time. A formal procedure that will enable contact tracing if needed and keep students social distances is in development and will be shared here when completed.

Test, Trace & Other Health Protocols

  • DOE recommends that all staff take a COVID-19 test in the days before the first day of school and monthly throughout the school year. Staff will have priority access for testing at 34 city-run testing locations, with tests provided free of charge and with expedited results. Free testing is also available for families citywide.  

  • If a student or teacher is feeling sick, they are required to stay home and, if their symptoms are consistent with COVID-19, are asked to get tested.  

  • If a student begins experiencing symptoms in school, they will be isolated and monitored by a dedicated staff member until they are picked up by their parents or guardians. 

  • Staff members who become symptomatic at school are asked to notify administration and immediately leave the building.  

  • In the event of a confirmed COVID-19 case in a school, NYC Test + Trace and NYC Health will investigate to determine close contacts within the school. All students and teachers in the classroom with the confirmed case are assumed close contacts and will be instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days since their last exposure to that case. In older grades where students may travel between classes, this applies to all classes that the confirmed case was in.  

  • If there's more than one case in a school, and it's not in the same classroom, learning will continue remotely and the school building will close for at least 24 hours while NYC Test + Trace and NYC Health investigate. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, affected classrooms or the whole building will remain closed for 14 days for quarantine. The protocol lays out additional steps for each possible exposure scenario. 

  • There will be a clear flow of information to facilitate fast action and prevent spread. A positive confirmed case will trigger an investigation by the NYC Test + Trace Corps and DOHMH to determine close contacts within the school, and to work with the DOE to issue clear guidance and decisions based on the outcome of the investigation. Schools will communicate to all families and students within the school any time a case is laboratory confirmed. 

A collage of 3 pictures of a golden lab dog with a face mask on in two in correct ways and one correct way.